With the NRL Finals just a couple of weeks away, a win by the teams vying for a safe spot on the ladder is more crucial than ever and that couldn’t be more true than for the Brisbane Broncos in Thursday night football.

Currently the Wayne Bennett-coached Broncos are sitting sixth on the table equal on 28 competition points with their Grand Final conquerors last year, the Cowboys (5th).

Last week Brisbane had an easy home game win over the Eels (38 – 16) and they get home field advantage again tonight taking on the Bulldogs at Suncorp Stadium shooting for their third on the trot.

Parramatta had nothing to play for last week but Canterbury, who went into extra time for their 20 – 16 win over Manly last Thursday night, will be harder for the Broncos to hold out as the Doggies look to stay in fourth place and look big value at $2.40 in the NRL odds at Ladbrokes.com.au.

On Friday night the Penrith Panthers are short-priced favourites to enjoy a home game win at Pepper Stadium over the 10th-ranked Tigers. Penrith are seventh on the ladder and enjoyed a confidence boosting 42 – 6 win over this season’s worst – Newcastle – last Sunday. Wests meanwhile dug deep for their match against the Titans only to go down by a one-point field goal scored by Hayne.

Saturday the Gold Coast should be able to win again by a much bigger margin, it being their turn to show up the Knights down at Hunter Stadium and hang onto a spot in the Top 8 that they are teetering on. That said, Newcastle boast a dominant record of four wins from their past five played against the Titans.

The following Saturday showdown takes place at Brookvale, but the Sea Eagles are out of finals’ contention and will be having to pull out all tricks to hold off the ladder-leading Storm. Melbourne though went down in a 22 – 8 shock loss the Raiders last Monday and could be a little shaken up still.

Sea Eagles vs Storm is one of the NRL’s greatest rivalries and even with these two being so far apart this season, bank on an intriguing clash.

For the third Saturday match the action moves up to 1300 Smiles Stadium in North Queensland with the Cowboys looking to move into the Top 4 with a win over the Warriors who lost to the Bunnies of all teams last week at home in NZ. While NQ boys haven’t been at their brilliant best over the past month, especially the shock loss to the Roosters (22 – 10) last Sunday, they have won their past 11 games as favourites at home so the stats say they can hold off the Warriors.

Sunday the third-ranked Raiders can further move up all-in NRL Premiership betting markets taking on the Eels at GIO Stadium where the home squad have won nine of their past 10 games, before the Sydney Roosters take on the Dragons after their win over the reigning premiers last round.

The round concludes with the 13th-ranked Rabbitohs hosting the second-placed Sharks, Cronulla no longer a sure thing after they went down the Dragons (32 – 18) last week.

Check out the full NRL Round 24 draw below complete with our insider footy tips you can lock in at the best odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Footy Freaks!